I Live In The Woods
by Forestfire34720
Summary: It used to be Redfield—Mr. Red. Then it was Jane, my childhood best friend. Now it's me. Now it's my turn to be the monster living in the woods. — Choices: Stories You Play: It Lives


**I discovered Choices: Stories You Play recently. New favorite story game, ever. I'm particularly fond of It Lives In The Woods (sequel coming out, so WOOOO), so inspiration struck and this came to be!**

 **WARNING : This contains spoilers for ILitW up to chapter 15. Don't consider the finale (chapter 16) in what happens here.**

 **Also, this was written with knowledge of chapters 1-10 and chapter 15 (because I looked ahead), so I'm disregarding everything about the backstory of the Power and Redfield and what Cora tells you about how the Power works and stuff.**

 **Alright, for this story, the following things have happened: The Main Character takes in Cora's creature (Maurice). He (my MC is male, so that's the gender here, not that it actually matters) dated Andy, and went to homecoming with him. Everyone survives Jane's game, and MC breaks Jane's hold over Noah, but chooses to sacrifice himself in lieu of Noah.**

 **Anything bolded in the story are quotes taken directly from It Lives in the Woods (beside the modifications necessary to fit the POV change)**

* * *

 **I Live in the Woods**

 **Summary:** It used to be Redfield—Mr. Red. Then it was Jane, my childhood best friend. Now it's me. Now it's my turn to be the monster living in the woods.

* * *

It's been one minute.

I stand silently, solemnly at the window and watch my friends stagger away from the ruins. They're all in varying states of disarray, fear, and sorrow.

Andy's face is pale with pain as he leans heavily against the wall, seemingly barely able to support himself. His broken leg hasn't been fixed yet, probably because none of them felt confident enough to even touch it. I don't blame them; it looks nasty, and chances are good that they would just make it worse.

" **Someone...** " Andy says faintly. He keeps turning his head to look at the entrance, almost expectantly, and the crushed expression on his face that grows stronger each second makes my heart ache.

Lucas is the next one to appear. His legs give out, and he falls to his knees. He's trembling, his limbs shaking as he kneels in the dirt. Tears streak down his face, and his chest shakes a little with sobs.

" **Please...** " he pleads to no one in particular, his voice cracking.

 **"Over here!" Lily calls out in a voice hoarse from screaming.** She looks terrified, her eyes rounded. She's crying too, but the relief is evident in her face and tone as the searchers approach them, shouting to each other.

From the side, **Ava steps forward, her knees shaking as she fights back tears.** It's one of the few times I've seen her this vulnerable, with her guard truly down, and I hate it. I hate what Jane did that made her like this. I hate what she did to _all_ of my friends, and in a way, I dread what's going to happen next, in the coming days, weeks, years, for me, for them, for _us_. Specifically, how an "us" isn't going to exist anymore...

" **I think I need some help,** " Ava says, wincing and easing herself to the ground. Every movement clearly pains her. I want to help—I know that, with this power, I can alleviate her pain—but I don't know how. I can't do anything except stand there and watch everyone move about.

 **Dan walks out silently, head hung low and hands in his pockets.** He's the most somber, and his gaze remains firmly fixed on the ground. I can see the torment and guilt in him in the stricken way he holds himself. I can sense he blames himself for everything. He thinks it's his fault for going into the woods in the first place. He thinks my and Noah's potential—from his point of view—deaths lie squarely on his shoulders. But they don't. I know a lot of the culpability is on me. I wish I could tell him that.

" **Mom...** " Stacy sniffles and stumbles forward, all and any tension between mother and daughter vanishing in that instant. All of her admirable bravado from before is washed away in the solace of her mother's presence.

" **Stacy!** " Mayor Green exclaims in relief, as Hilda barks happily. **She runs to Stacy's side and pulls her into a tearful hug... then holds her at arm's length, searching her face for answers. "I don't understand. Is this everyone? Where are the rest of you?"**

Stacy can only shake her head, her breath hitching. She sobs openly, and her mother pulls her back into a tight hug. Connor comes up to them, and without a word, joins the hug, wrapping his arms around them both.

 **In the distance, a flash of movement catches my eyes. I turn my gaze upward, toward the woods... and lock eyes with a distant figure.** Noah says nothing, his gaze haunted and guilty.

 _ **"...Noah..."**_ I whisper, even though he can't hear me.

 **For a moment it looks like he might call out to the search party and step forward... but instead, he turns and runs.** To where, I don't know. Maybe home, maybe school... maybe somewhere else entirely. All I know if that he's running away from all this, and from the blame that falls on him.

 **Something brushes against my wrist. I look down to see Maurice staring up at me.** He huffs comfortingly, and I smile.

 _ **"...Good dog..."**_

Outside, the search party continues scrambling about. Mayor Green has stopped trying to pry answers from Stacy and her friends, and now shows nothing but relief, never straying far from her daughter. Stacy, too, clings tightly to her mother. She sobs softly, burying her face in her shirt. Connor stands up and goes to help Ava, who's trembling on the ground, still in a lot of pain. A guy from the basketball team, someone I don't recognize but know is one of his teammates, goes to help Andy. People, likely some who have medical training, come forward and gingerly pick him up, lifting him high to keep his leg from brushing against anything. They hustle off to get him fixed up as best as they can out in the woods.

My heart twists at the sight of the grief in each of their faces. And in the distance, I see Noah's silhouette disappear among the shadows and trees. Despite everything he did, all I can do is wish him well.

The searchers run about as I watch. I hear them ask again about me, about Noah. My friends don't answer, can't answer. They don't know. I'm glad they're all alive. I'm glad that if someone had to die, it was me. I'm glad that they don't know that now I'm Mr. Red, the terrifying nightmare that's haunted their dreams and tortured Dan for years since.

I sincerely hope they never realize what happened.

And when the searchers start to venture down into the depths, I collapse the tunnel. It's better this way.

* * *

It's been one hour.

The experience is strange, surreal. I'm not sure I could explain it even I'd I tried. There's all this power at my fingertips; but it pulses coldly-I would go as far as to say menacingly-inside me.

I can't say I regret setting Jane's soul and spirit free, but...

I'm scared. I'm scared of what I can do.

Ava would probably tell me not to shy away from it. She'd tell me not to reject it. She'd tell me to be careful, but to accept what's inside me. But how can I embrace something that's been the cause of death for so many?

Something that could very easily make me the next Redfield?

* * *

It's been one day.

People have scrambled about all day, and long into the night as well, so I fled to the cavern and waited it out. And I thought a lot about what happens next for me. About what I might become.

Maybe I swear never to do what Jane did. Maybe I make a vow to myself that I'll stay good, and never hurt another soul. Maybe I promise to always to stay isolated here, away from everyone else to keep them safe.

Maybe I do all that. But I can't help but remember that Jane had been my best friend, sweet, kind, and caring. And yet she had turned into a being of power far too akin to what Mr. Red had been.

Am I going to do that too? In ten, twenty, maybe thirty years, will I kill? Will I be a murderer? Will the blood of innocents be on my hands?

The notion frightens me beyond anything Redfield or Jane could possibly do.

* * *

It's been one week.

And I'm alone.

But I can handle it. I've been alone for ten years, in a sense. Ten years without my friends. Ten years of suppressing the memory of the first encounter, of Jane dying. If I could handle that, I can handle this. And I have Maurice.

I hope Noah is doing okay. I hope he doesn't blame himself. I hope he knows that it wasn't his decision, that any fault lies on me and me alone.

I hope I made the right choice.

* * *

It's been one month.

I wonder how everyone is doing. They haven't come back since. The police and a few investigators have poked around a bit, but failed to find anything, mostly due to my interference. _It's better this way_ , I tell myself.

My mind may agree with the sentiment, but my heart and spirit ache with longing and sorrow.

This is my existence now, though. I've accepted it. And I'm going to try my hardest to make sure no one else is ever burdened with this curse, even if that means I suffer for a thousand years.

* * *

It's been one year.

I've never suffered this kind of solitude before. The silence that pervades every corner. The emptiness that presses down on me like a mountain. The desolation that creeps in like the cold, slowing you down, trying to hold you back from doing anything. The darkness that permeates the very air, slinking through your mind.

No one has ever come back. The ruins are abandoned once again, except for the moss-and-bone dog and the shadowed ghost prowling about. I want to leave so badly, to watch over my friends like some angel—even if I'd be a fallen one—but I'm afraid that if I do, I won't be able to stop myself. I'd start going out farther, start stretching my reach and influence, start trying to sway things in a direction that I favor. I'm afraid that I'll become like Jane, trying to help but ultimately only hurting.

It's that thought, that fear, that keeps me from seeking them out, from spectating them so I don't feel quite so alone. All it takes is one mistake, one wrong move, one bad decision, and I'll have continued the cycle of pain, fear, and death. I refuse to let that happen.

That cycle will never go on as long as I'm in control.

* * *

It's been one decade.

And I'm all alone... so alone...

The promise I made years ago to myself feels meaningless now; no matter how hard I try to care, my will is crumbling. My friends have all left town. I know, because I've already ventured out from my home. I just needed something familiar and comforting (even if it did end up being a bit stalker-like). Maybe they each had other motives as well, but I know one of the main driving ones was to get away from all these bad memories haunting the woods and school. To escape the pain of remembering Noah, Jane, and I.

Lucas was the first to go, off to pursue something to prove himself and make his family proud. I hope he's doing well, and has stopped trying to compare himself to his parents.

Andy was the hardest to watch go, when he went off to college. If this form had any tears to shed, I would've cried long into the next month. My feelings for him haven't changed, not one bit.

Dan is the only one left, and I know even he's about to jump on the train and ride off to somewhere else. He's settled into his new life at last, ready to take that next step of adulthood.

It makes me happy that he's moved on... but also so incredibly, indescribably sad. Dan's moved on from most of his trauma, and his PTSD has steadily grown weaker until I'm not even sure if it exists anymore, but he's also moved on from Jane. From _me_. And I'm left to wonder what would've happened if I had just let Noah take over the position ten years ago (I think he abandoned ship first, actually, not Lucas).

So when the gaggle of kids—I'd guess them to be around thirteen or fourteen—wander in, I'm elated. I wanted company so bad. Maurice has been a faithful companion, and a steady source of comfort, but he just couldn't cut it sometimes.

The kids were frightened at first to see me, but they want to be my friends! They want to help me! And I want to help them. I want to make them laugh, make them happy, make all their pains and troubles go away forever. I want to be their friends. My self-imposed exile is so hard, and I don't want to suffer it any longer.

Maybe if I played with them, my old friends would hear about it, realize that they don't have to fear me, and come back? I really hope Andy will, especially. Then if it worked, I would have both new and old friends!

I'm not worried. I've learned from Redfield and Jane, and I know I won't lose myself. How could I? And how could this possibly hurt them?

It's just one little game, after all.

* * *

 **And so it continues...**

 **I had written this when I was at chapter 9, but I had also looked ahead to the very end. And I wondered: How did Jane get to that point, where she would hurt and maim and kill? And how could the cycle continue? So this was born.**

 **The basic idea behind this is that the Power _does_ influence the soul who wields it, but it does so by creeping up, slowly moving in little by little until you're like the ones who came before you. Not exactly taking over, but rather warping the mind.**

 **Remember, as I said above, in this one-shot, all that stuff about the Power and Redfield's backstory and the letters are completely ignored. None of that forgetting memory stuff either, in chap. 16. That would completely deconstruct this.**

 **If you didn't like some of the choices in here, or where I took this... well, too bad. This is what I chose for my story. Go write your own if you're not happy.**

 **—Forest**


End file.
